Is anyone here actually living the dream?
I mean, we all kinda know that nearly everything on social media is BS, right?
The escapism, though. The chance to imagine a Zen to which you can only aspire to — is that what so many people are addicted to online?
Pile the number of books, essays, doctoral theses and transcripts of podcasts that take a deep dive into social media and its influence on society in general, and you’d have a stack likely taller than the Eiffel Tower.
Still, so many of us can’t look away. So it makes sense that one of the first viral reads for 2026 is a book about a trad wife influencer. “Yesteryear” is Caro Claire Burke’s debut novel — the story of the rise and … of Natalie Heller Mills, a self-made woman of sorts that found her way from Idaho to Boston and back again, this time with a husband in tow. A whirlwind courtship and quickie marriage to a senator’s son, and suddenly Natalie finds herself in unchartered territory — wife and mother and no certain prospects for a solid family foundation.
Time to find that husband a job.
There are enough teasers out there for readers to know Natalie leans hard into social media and lifestyle influencing — in her case, the dreamy homesteader kind of wife that listens to her man, churns the butter, has photogenic children that pose for sweetly sunlit photos on the farm and addresses her chickens as the “ladies.” When things start to go south, Natalie wakes one morning to find herself transported in time to the life she has been evangelizing, only to discover it might not be as romantic as she purports it to be.
What I thought was going to be a metaphor about the dangers of believing anything you see on the internet turned out to be … yes, that but also this was one of those books I couldn’t put down until a twist occurs that I honestly did not see coming. And then I was left scratching my head.
It’s an entertaining read — if you want something you are going to pick up and sail through, it’s some pretty interesting storytelling here. It’s just the last 20 percent or so, where it felt a little rushed, and the crazy plot twist feels a little unnecessary. I know there’s a ton of buzz around the upcoming Anne Hathaway adaptation, I’m just going to need to sit with it a bit before I decide if I need to watch.
I just hope readers come away with a healthy dose of respect for content marketing, which is actually my day job. Bougie bread pans, aprons and spice sets don’t just sell themselves after all.
This is a great pick for a book club or the beach —it’s definitely a debate starter, along with a dream theme for host. Don’t forget the biscuits!
LitzyDitz 